Usually the prospect of booking flights in the summer months means one thing: trying to finagle a not extremely expensive flight but ultimately giving up and just paying whatever high price you have to, because you need to get to the beach/wedding/vacation destination. But because so many fellow travelers booked early this year or decided to go abroad, domestic summer travel fares are actually down right now. Yep, down.

The Wall Street Journal found that after years of fares shooting up for summer travel to many vacation destinations, this year there’s a welcome decline. Some of the most popular domestic destinations have dropped in price, including for example, a summertime flight to Chicago, which is costs 18% less this year than the same time last year.

Heading to Honolulu, New York, Tampa, Denver or Washington, D.C.? You’ll also likely see a big decline to those spots as well ‚ if you act fast. Once demand increases, airlines will start charging more because that’s how it works. Gotta get those butts in those seats, after all.

While domestic sales are down so far this summer, international sales are up as travelers are finally releasing themselves from the grip of the recession.

Better book soon though, now that the word is out. And there’s always the very real probability that gas fuel prices will spike, leading to an increase in fares across the board.

The Best Places to Fly This Summer [Wall Street Journal]

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